Protests: Iran’s Spiritual Leader Sues For Peace
Iran's
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sued for
peace calling for an end to street protests over
last week's disputed presidential election, won by
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Making his first public appearance after daily
protests over the official results, Khamenei ruled
out any major fraud in the conduct of the poll and
warned that the defeated candidates would be held to
account over any renewed violence on the streets.
"The people have chosen whom they wanted. I see some
people more suitable for serving the country than
others but the people made their choice. What I want
was not told to the people -- the president's
opinion is closer to my opinion."
The supreme leader said in his sermon at the main
weekly prayers in Tehran, which was broadcast live
across the nation after a week of unrest that has
unnerved the regime.
Khamenei insisted that despite the 646 complaints of
poll violations registered by the three defeated
candidates with electoral watchdog, the Guardians
Council; there could be no doubting Ahmadinejad's
re-election to a second four-year term, given his
margin of victory.
According to him, "the legal mechanisms in our
country do not allow cheating. How can one cheat
with a margin of 11 million votes". He asked.
Warning
The Supreme leader demanded that the street protests
that have rocked the capital for the past week now
cease, warning that otherwise there risked being
further bloodshed beyond the seven deaths reported
by state radio so far.
"I want to tell everyone these things must finish.
These street actions are being done to put pressure
on leaders but we will not bow in front of them," he
said.
The opposition has been planning a new mass rally in
Tehran on Saturday, to be addressed by Ahmadinejad's
principal challenger, former premier Mir Hossein
Mousavi.
There was no immediate word from the reformist
clerical association which is organising the rally
on whether they still planned to go ahead.
Another of the defeated candidates, reformist former
parliament speaker, Mehdi Karroubi, had urged his
supporters to stay away from the Tehran prayers,
addressed by the supreme leader and instead join
Saturday's rally.
Unlike the rallies held by the opposition, foreign
media were allowed to cover Friday's prayers.
Khamenei's sermon came after Ahmadinejad's principal
challenger told the latest mass protest by his
supporters on Thursday that their gripe was only
with the election results not the regime itself.
Speaking through a loudhailer, Mousavi reiterated
his demand for a re-run of the election, which he
has denounced as a "shameful fraud".
"We have come to obtain our rights. We only want our
votes," he said, according to his newspaper website
Kalemeh.ir. "We will make any sacrifice to protect
the system."
The three defeated candidates -- Karroubi and
conservative ex-Revolutionary Guards chief, Mohsen
Rezai as well as Mousavi -- have been invited to set
out their grievances before the electoral watchdog,
the Guardians Council, on Saturday.
The council has said it will announce its decision
on Sunday on any recount.
Yahoonews/ Qasim/Funke